Polar Opposites

A little over a week ago, I received an email from Jon of A Penny Sleeve for your Thoughts, telling me that he had a card for my 2019 Panini Prizm project that he wanted to send my way.

Though I was determined to find something to give back in return, he insisted on sending me this card and didn't want anything in exchange for it. I sincerely appreciate this act, Jon, though I'll make sure to find something for you in the coming months.

Anyways, when his letter arrived in the mail today, I had some idea of what to expect. Sure enough, I opened it up and was greeted by a red mojo parallel of Gary Carter, numbered out of 299 copies.

Out of the 2-dozen plus parallels in this 300-card set, I'd have to rank the red and blue mojos near the top along with the donut circle cards and the burgundy shimmer refractors.

Aside from Bowman mega boxes and Series 1, 2, and Update silver packs, Topps doesn't do anything with mojo refractors, but I've seen my fair share of them in Panini Prizm and Chronicles Baseball along with a ton of Basketball and Football sets.

Moreover, Carter is one of a handful of retired players featured in this set, and the photo Panini chose is perfect because I never would've guessed that the card is unlicensed.

I would've been more than happy with the Carter parallel alone. After all, Jon didn't ask for anything in return, and I need all the help I can get with this project.

However, he sent one more card my way, something that couldn't be more different than the Carter parallel but a card that I was absolutely stoked to get.

A couple of weeks back, I purchased my first 1952 Topps card from my LCS, a Cubs card graded by PSA at a 3. Now, thanks to Jon's extreme generosity, I have a card from every single Topps Flagship set.

Ever since the debut of the Topps Living set, I've become fonder of 1953 Topps. I only have a card or 2 from the online exclusive, but the details are unlike any other set, licensed or unlicensed, produced nowadays.

Having my first '53 Flagship card in-hand, I see wh Topps puts so much emphasis on the details in the Living Set. After all, that's what they did 66 years ago when they didn't nearly have as much technology as they do today.

Considering how long it takes me to complete sets that I already have a reasonable number of cards from, it would be nearly impossible to complete the 1953 Topps Flagship set.

That said, I'll keep my eye out for singles in the future because now that I have one of these cards in hand, I have an even greater appreciation for these beautiful cards.

Thanks again for the cards, Jon. This was a much-appreciated surprise.

A Newfound Appreciation

In between my purchases at The National in Chicago earlier this month, I had time to stroll around the show floor, glancing through the display cases that held unbelievable cards.

Don't get me wrong, the modern cards intrigued me quite a bit. I saw around a dozen Wander Franco 1st Bowman autos together in 1 case, a Benintendi superfractor rookie card from 2017 Topps Chrome, and Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero dual autographed booklet (both on the Expos), just to name some of the highlights.

However, my eyes were primarily drawn to the display cases of graded vintage cards that I so frequently looked at during my time at the show. Most of the cards didn't even have price tags, so I knew they weren't in my budget whatsoever.

Nonetheless, just seeing Mickey Mantle rookie cards in-person is a memorable experience in its own right.

Out of all the vintage sets, I found myself taking notice of 1953 Topps more and more. Solely because of how old the product is, I've never been able to familiarize myself with these beautiful cards. In fact, I only began appreciating the set when Topps Living was released last year.

The checklist is incredibly small (280 cards), but when you take into account cards like Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, and Satchel Paige (whose name Topps spelled incorrectly in the '01 Archives card above), it would be nearly impossible to complete.

'53 Topps has often been viewed as an over-used Flagship set, and I guess I can't really disagree with that argument. For starters, Topps paid tribute to this iconic design in the early 90s with an all-1953 Topps Archives set, the first installment in a series that would be revived twice more.

I'm not overly familiar with this release, but I have enough cards to know that Topps didn't do that good of a job recreating their 2nd Flagship set. The original 1953 Topps Cubs cards had a black banner like the 1st card, not red like Roy Smalley's. Not to mention, the cardstock was nothing like it was in '51.

Not only do I not have a single original '53 card, but I'd also be surprised if I had more than 3 cards from the 2002 Topps Heritage set that's modeled after the original set. 

Given that 2002 Topps Heritage hobby boxes are going for $150 on eBay, I don't think I'll be seeing many cards from that set anytime soon. In fact, the closest I've gotten to authentic 1953 Topps cards is thanks to 2016 Topps Archives. 

Still, like the previously mentioned Archives release, they didn't do the greatest job recreating the set. I realize nothing can beat the original, but this card stock was just far too thin, and the checklist wasn't that great either.

Topps Living is likely the closest I'll get to the real thing, but the cards are too pricy ($8 for 1 or $15 for 3) for me to purchase on the Topps website. I never really think to buy them on eBay afterward, and they never seem to turn up at the Baseball card show either.

Last year, I used an eBay coupon to purchase my 1st Topps Living card for around 70 cents. I chose Clemente because, as a retired player, his card was actually cheaper than that of modern guys, especially rookies.

Speaking of rookie cards, I should've just gone for it and purchased Fernando Tatis Jr's card when it was first listed on the Topps website. After all, he's easily my favorite rookie of 2019, so I might just pick one up of eBay when I have the chance.

Although I have this newfound appreciation for 1953 Topps, I don't have many means of acquiring original or reprinted cards from this beautiful set. I may just start buying individual cards if I have the opportunity to do so at the Baseball card show.

I likely won't be trying to complete the set or anything. I just want to get my hands on this gorgeous set.